How To Install a Cold Draft Beer (and keep the water) System

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BellePlaine
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How To Install a Cold Draft Beer (and keep the water) System

Post by BellePlaine » Sun Sep 02, 2012 12:24 pm

I’m to the point now with my 1975 Riviera with a late (1976) Westfalia interior that I’m ready to dream up projects that are not of the utmost urgency to the drivability of the vehicle. Of course, there are always systems to be maintained, but I’m ready to have some real modification fun. This summer I tackled such a project and installed a homebrewed beer draft system. It’s the perfect marriage of my two favorite hobbies: Volkswagens and brewing homebrew.

Given that this is a family vacation get-away vehicle and I didn’t really want to have to explain myself to non-approving critics, it was a major goal of mine to make the draft system as inconspicuous as possible.

In fact here it is:
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I can serve both water and cold homebrewed beer out of the stock Westy sink faucet.
It’s done by using a 3-way ball valve at the faucet so if the handle is turned CCW, beer will flow. If the handle is turned CW, water flows. There is one fairly short common line going from the ball valve to the faucet and it just takes a second to clear.

See; that’s an Imperial Stout brewed with cold-press coffee and cocoa chocolate nibs:

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I’ve widened the spare-tire cabinet by a couple of inches which allowed me to fit two 5-gallon stainless steel Cornelius kegs. These “Corny” kegs used to be used by the soda industry but homebrewers have adopted them as the vessel of choice for kegging purposes. One of the two kegs is for water and the other is for homebrew. I’ve removed the stock 7-gallon water tank.
A beverage tube, or line, goes from the water keg directly to the 3-way ball valve/faucet. Another beverage line, which I’ve insulated, goes from the beer keg and runs along behind the sink cabinet and then into the icebox. In the icebox it runs through 50-feet of stainless steel coil which is cold from ice and then through an insulated line to the 3-way ball valve/faucet.

The liquid is pushed pneumatically, that is to say via pressure. I’ve installed a keg pump which fits just perfectly through the hole where the water-fill tube used to be in the original water system. The keg pump provides air to the water tank, and to a gas distributor which I’ve reversed to allow air or CO2 to push the beer. Beer prefers and inert gas such as C02 otherwise it gets stale quickly. The C02 comes from a hand-held dispenser with a fitting attached to a gas line. It uses those small BB-gun cartages. So I’ve engineered the beer keg to get either CO2 or air in case I use all of the CO2 cartages while camping but might still have time and beer to kill.

Here is what it looks like inside:
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Underneath the sink, the 3-way ball valve:
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Above the sink, the handle and faucet:
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The spare tire cabinet/keg disconnects:
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The icebox/stainless steel coil.
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The water/beer keg air pump, and yes, that IS a Bay Window shifter knob:
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The beer CO2 dispenser:
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The beer CO2/Air distributor:
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The system is great and discreet but wasn’t perfect. Getting a beer meant opening the slider door each time and disturbing my sleeping children. So I had a stainless steel box fabricated to fit nicely in the sink drain vent hole on the outside of the bus. Inside that box I had Corny keg threads welded so I could attach beer-out and CO2-in fittings which allows me to snap on a beer tapper and gas.

Here are some pics of the box:
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The schematic on the whole system:
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Most of the stuff needed for this modification can be bought at your well-stocked homebrew supply shop. The 3-way ball valve I found at McMaster Carr. And the stainless steel box I had fabricated by a friend using Corny keg threads salvaged from a destroyed keg.

I hope that you found my homebrew draft system to be well thought out. Cheers!
Image
1975 Riviera we call "Spider-Man"

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sailorkh
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Re: How To Install a Cold Draft Beer (and keep the water) Sy

Post by sailorkh » Sun Sep 02, 2012 12:41 pm

Very cool. Your going to be very popular at campouts! :occasion5:
Kris
1971 Deluxe "Ole blue"
1978 Westfalia "Gretchen"
1966 Cal40 "Viva"

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Amskeptic
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Re: How To Install a Cold Draft Beer (and keep the water) Sy

Post by Amskeptic » Sun Sep 02, 2012 4:15 pm

That is friggen crazy-beautiful.
Colin
(gearshift knob . . . . the perfect touch)
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
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zabo
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Re: How To Install a Cold Draft Beer (and keep the water) Sy

Post by zabo » Sun Sep 02, 2012 6:16 pm

Wow-veeeeery nice
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78 bus

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Kubelwagen
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Re: How To Install a Cold Draft Beer (and keep the water) Sy

Post by Kubelwagen » Sun Sep 02, 2012 8:04 pm

I'll save you the spot right next to me at Maupin next year! Come on out!

Great job - that's really cool.

M
Patience the 81 Adventurewagen

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Re: How To Install a Cold Draft Beer (and keep the water) Sy

Post by bajaman72 » Sun Sep 02, 2012 8:56 pm

Go Go Gadget Beer!! I love it!! Nice touch keeping it specific with the correct shifter.
1968 Karmann Ghia - Driver
1969 Transporter - Project
1959 Karmann Ghia - Full Race Car

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Ryno
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Re: How To Install a Cold Draft Beer (and keep the water) Sy

Post by Ryno » Mon Sep 03, 2012 5:24 am

Good work!
Ryan

1985 Westfalia

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drober23
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Re: How To Install a Cold Draft Beer (and keep the water) Sy

Post by drober23 » Mon Sep 03, 2012 5:50 am

Very nice!

Some buddies of mine attempted this concept without the bus. We were at a 10-day primitive camping event and they wanted cold beer on demand. They had the keg, the ice bath with the coil of tube to cool the beer on the way out, and the CO2 bits.

I shared this with them, and they were very impressed. The problem is, they want one on MY bus now. :-)
DJ

'75 Westfalia, '79 Deluxe
(plus more busses than sense)

In a time of chimpanzees I was a monkey

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jonyem
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Re: How To Install a Cold Draft Beer (and keep the water) Sy

Post by jonyem » Mon Sep 03, 2012 8:40 am

So when can I send in a deposit for your Itinerant tour?

Excellent job, and great write up. Kinda changes my feelings concerning the sink/cool box unit in my '73 Riviera.
Late 1973 ASI/Riviera conversion.

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BellePlaine
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Re: How To Install a Cold Draft Beer (and keep the water) Sy

Post by BellePlaine » Mon Sep 03, 2012 11:04 am

Thanks for the comments everyone.

I’ll admit that I’m very proud of the gear-shift knob on the keg pump. I took a coupling that fit the receiving rod’s threads and epoxied it into the inside of the knob.

I would love to show my bus off (and meet everyone) at Maupin someday. To conserve vacation time, I’ve considered shipping the bus to Portland and driving it back. Maybe next year…
1975 Riviera we call "Spider-Man"

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sped372
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Re: How To Install a Cold Draft Beer (and keep the water) Sy

Post by sped372 » Mon Sep 03, 2012 11:44 am

I love it! Hope to see it in person someday.
1971 Karmann Ghia - 1600 DP
1984 Westfalia - 1.9 WBX

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tristessa
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Re: How To Install a Cold Draft Beer (and keep the water) Sy

Post by tristessa » Mon Sep 03, 2012 10:21 pm

BellePlaine wrote:I would love to show my bus off (and meet everyone) at Maupin someday. To conserve vacation time, I’ve considered shipping the bus to Portland and driving it back. Maybe next year…
It's only ~30 hours/1700miles if you drive straight through .. drive in shifts with your co-pilot. :cyclopsani:

(I'm not actually suggesting this .. probably)
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Bleyseng
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Re: How To Install a Cold Draft Beer (and keep the water) Sy

Post by Bleyseng » Tue Sep 04, 2012 7:31 am

Maupin next year!!! Its only 30 hrs!!! =D>

Now if only Beans would come back.....missed his coffee.
Geoff
77 Sage Green Westy- CS 2.0L-160,000 miles
70 Ghia vert, black, stock 1600SP,- 139,000 miles,
76 914 2.1L-Nepal Orange- 160,000+ miles
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luftvagon
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Re: How To Install a Cold Draft Beer (and keep the water) Sy

Post by luftvagon » Tue Sep 04, 2012 2:48 pm

You have offended the gods of DESIRES. Now the gods want one too!!! :)
1981 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia - air-cooled Type4 1970cc CV (hydraulic lifters, 42x36 valves, stock cam, microSquirt FI with wasted spark ignition)
1993 Ford F-250 XL LWB Extended Cab 7.3L IDI

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Re: How To Install a Cold Draft Beer (and keep the water) Sy

Post by locoqueso » Sat Sep 08, 2012 5:48 am

Pure genius! You are my new hero.
1978 VW Campmobile (P-21) Westfalia - T2 2.0L F.I.- 151,000m
1982 Mercedes-Benz Estate Wagon (300TD-T) - S123 3.0L T.D. - 142,000m
1993 Dodge Maxi Van (190 SLF) InterVec Falcon - B350 Magnum 5.9L F.I. - 70,000m

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